The Gathering
Transformers, Beast Wars: The Gathering is a comic miniseries published in 2006 by IDW Publishing featuring characters from Beast Wars. It is the first major comic to feature Beast Wars characters. It was followed by The Ascending. Synopsis Issue 1 Magmatron and his Predacons set down on prehistoric Earth, in the midst of the Beast Wars. Razorbeast sets up a transmitter array which will activate the Axalon's abandoned stasis pods. Magmatron sends his troops to report on the results. Depth Charge suddenly appears, but Magmatron reminds Drill Bit that his team has been chronally displaced, rendering them invisible to the rest of the beast warriors. Flashing back to Cybertron, Magmatron has gathered a group of disenchanted Predacons. He promises victory over the oppressive Maximal regime as well as the stagnant Tripredacus Council. Tripredacus Agent Ravage sends tactical planetary scans to Magmatron, presumably of ancient Earth. Razorbeast seeks to go undercover to learn what Magmatron is planning. Back on Earth, in the "present", Razorbeast sends the signal, waking up the multitude of Maximal stasis pods scattered across Earth. Most of Magmatron's troops report in, confirming that the new Transformers are indeed Predacons. Spittor, however, is attacked by a newly-roused Maximal, Polar Claw. This reveals Razorbeast as a traitor, and the Maximal rushes off to gather his own troops. Magmatron, eager to complete his plan, sends his Predacons into battle. Issue 2 A new army of Predacons gathers to receive orders. Magmatron sends his troops to hunt down Razorbeast's diffuse band of Maximals. Spittor and Drill Bit accompany Magmatron on his own mission to hunt down Razorbeast. Razorbeast has met up with Snarl, B'Boom, Optimus Minor, Bonecrusher, Wolfang, and Ramulus. Deciding he needs to contact Cybertron, Razorbeast splits up the group to locate Ravage's Transwarp cruiser. Other groups of Maximals continue their journey to answer Razorbeast's summoning call. Stinkbomb, Bantor, Noctorro, K-9, and Armordillo help free Torca from some mud. Claw Jaw and Cybershark travel together in water, while Night Glider, Sonar, Prowl, and Air Hammer take to the skies. Polar Claw treks alone across the Arctic. Ramulus is defeated by Spittor, and Magmatron's triple dinosaur modes attack Razorbeast, Wolfang, and Bonecrusher. Optimus Minor, meanwhile, has located the cruiser. After Snarl dispatches Drill Bit, the two return with their prize, a signal amplifier. Although Magmatron briefly attains the upper hand, Razorbeast escapes and rescues the other two Maximals. They rendezvous with Minor and Snarl to assess their situation. The signal amplifier is broken, but it may be fixable. Despite his failure to stop Razorbeast's gang, Magmatron still has reason to celebrate. He has managed to salvage Ravage's mangled body, which still houses a viable spark. Issue 3 Razorbeast, Optimus Minor, Bonecrusher, and Snarl sneak into the Ark for parts to fix the signal amplifier. A group of Predacons enter a swampy area, tracking any stray Maximals. There are Transformers in this swamp, but they are neither Maximal nor Predacon. They are Mutants! Poison Bite stings Retrax; Soundwave takes a bite out of Powerpinch; Icebird takes down Transquito. Scourge and Insecticon retreat. Magmatron, Iguanus, and Drill Bit insert Ravage's spark into a stasis pod, transforming the blank protoform within into Transmetal 2 Ravage. A short time later, Snarl, still salvaging parts, detects Magmatron nearing Megatron's base. Megatron, returning from a successful mission, sends his troops Rampage and Inferno on ahead. While Megatron is left alone, Magmatron slips out of chronal displacement. Megatron suspects that Magmatron has come to complete Ravage's previous task, and he promptly kicks Magmatron's sorry ass. Distracted, Drill Bit and Iguanus easily knock Megatron out. Razorbeast realizes that, with Megatron now his prisoner, Magmatron will return to Cybertron to continue his plans for takeover. Razorbeast and Optimus Minor rush to stop him (repeating his gathering signal), while the others return to base with the parts. Ravage dispatches Lazorbeak, Buzz Saw, Injector, Sky Shadow, and Jetstorm to locate the Maximal base. Magmatron prepares to send Megatron back to Cybertron as an offering to gain favor with the Tripredacus Council. Razorbeast and Optimus Minor, watching from cover, discuss how to take down Magmatron. As if on cue, a distraction arrives in the form of Grimlock! Issue 4 Sky Shadow locates the Maximals' base, and Ravage moves in. Grimlock tears through Drill Bit and Iguanus, then engages Magmatron. Optimus Minor takes advantage of the distraction and steals a small device. Snarl fixes the transwarp signal amplifier, using the spare parts he gathered from the Ark. Magmatron's triple dinosaur modes finally overpower Grimlock, knocking him unconscious. Magmatron returns his attention to sending Megatron through the transwarp shunt back to Cybertron. Ravage and the Predacons have gathered outside the Maximals' cave. As the Maximals finally prepare to send a warning signal to Cybertron, the Predacons attack. Bonecrusher, B'Boom, Ramulus, and Wolfang rush off to face the threat while Snarl tries to get the signal off. Razorbeast, meanwhile, reveals himself to Magmatron. The smaller Maximal quickly gains the upper hand by altering his chronal placement. The Predacons outnumber the small band of Maximals, and round them up. But just in time, Torca and the rest of the wayward Maximals arrive and battle the Predacons. Back at Magmatron's camp, Razorbeast's scuffle is the perfect distraction for Optimus Minor to reach the prone Megatron and attach the device, shifting the rogue Predacon back into his native chronal phase. Magmatron is outraged and reaches for Minor, who is sitting on the Transwarp device. The agile Maximal avoids Magmatron's advance, and Razorbeast sends Magmatron through the shunt. At the Maximals' cave, the Predacons have been beaten, and they retreat. Torca assists in freeing Snarl from the collapsed cave. Snarl has managed to send off the signal, but there's no way of knowing if it was received. While Ravage and the Predacons regroup, the Maximals settle in, building a new base. Razorbeast mulls over his decision to "rescue" Megatron, but Prowl insists that they must concentrate on their own Beast Wars. Category:IDW Beast Wars series